NINE WAY TO INCREASE YOUR COFFEE SALES

way to increase your coffee sales

A professional, experienced barista can make all the difference. Image: coffeerush.info

With coffee prices sets to increase, Scottie Callaghan, one of the world's top baristas and Belaroma Coffee's head trainer, has some advice on how to not only keep your existing customers but increase sales as well.

Having a skilled barista is essential, said Callaghan, and customers will remain loyal, even through price increases, if they feel they are getting a good quality, good value product delivered by professional and friendly staff.

"Why does one cafe have a queue out the door with higher coffee prices and the cafe across the street is almost empty? Belaroma's research has shown it's all down to freat coffee and a great barista/cafe owner.

"[Customers] like the consistency of an excellent cup of coffee and they go through the same motions of ordering, seeking a paper, having the same snack and being asked if they 'want their usual' day in and day out. A good barista will know his/her crafts as well as the customers' names and thereby establishing a mutually respectful relationship that becomes harder to break," Callaghan said.

A good barista should also know how to work and clean his equipment properly, grinds on demand and never reheats milk.

Cafe owners should focus on the following if they're planning on increasing their coffee prices and/or want to increase sales.

1. Offer a superior coffee
2. Ensure staff have an excellent grounding with proper barista training
3. Keep service consistent and excellent
4. Pay close attention to the ambience and decor
5. Ask consumers what extras would make their experience more fulfilled. Magazines, newspapers, bookshelves, Wi-Fi - research shows consumers want to be listened to and you can reward their advice with a free coffee
6. Work above and beyond the norm to establish loyalty amongst customers
7. If you do have to put up your coffee prices, communicate meaningfully with your customers
8. As a cafe owner make sure you know the correct barista techniques/standards yourself
9. Adopt this barista mantra every day; "Today I can learn something new about barista techniques and coffee and change one of our processes to improve what we are doing."